


What I'd take to my grave (if I could)

by DarkShadeless



Series: The Age of Dad [3]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: (very brief) mention of self-harm, Alternate Universe - Powers, Experimental Style, Gen, Halloween story, M/M, Magic, Secret Identity, Secrets, Supernatural Elements, heroes and villains universe, honestly something of a, i guess, it's definitely a little different from my usual, you read that right
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 04:52:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18203783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkShadeless/pseuds/DarkShadeless
Summary: Parents do have their own lives and some, they have a past.





	What I'd take to my grave (if I could)

**Author's Note:**

> Experimenting again. I think it turned out alright! We'll see whether I'll get roasted alive for including the picture (yes there is a picture in here). I did my best to source the different parts of my (glorious, totally not made in paint) collage. Enjoy!

 

 

_Many kids underestimate that parents do have their own lives. By the time they become parents, some of them even have a **past**. _

_So do I._

 

* * *

Squeezing the last boxes into the car and driving off shouldn’t hurt but it does. Max lets the ache wash over him with a small sigh. There goes the last place Dorian lived in with them. The last time they painted the walls. The last color scheme they picked out, the last Ikea cupboard they put together while his husband whined about tasteless, cheap shit.

Funny, how all of those memories are overshadowed by the finality of them, sometimes.

“Hey, dad, you okay?” Amanda leans against his shoulder, lightly enough not to disturb his driving. “You don’t usually miss the chance to make a joke.”

Did he? Max tries to shake off his mood and nudges her gently. “I’m gonna be fine. No worries.”

“If you say so…”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, panda. My heart is awash with joy.”

They glance at each other. Max breaks first, poker face broken on a snicker and they both start to laugh.

Yeah, they’re going to be okay.

 

* * *

 

_Picture perfect, hm? I do my best to be a good father. Ever since Amanda was born I’ve been a stay-at-home dad where I could, trying to capture every moment._

_But there is something she doesn’t know about me._

_My name is Maxwell Trevelyan…_

 

* * *

 

“… and I used to be a villain.”

“Hello Maxwell.” The greeting is a joint effort, a chorus of voices that couldn’t be more different. Young, old, male, female, high, low, boisterous or barely confident enough to say anything… as much as people like their boxes, villains come in all shapes and sizes. When they're done with the life a lot of them end up here, sooner or later.

Here, where Max tells them, “Max is fine. I’m glad to see all of you today! Welcome to the Reformed Villain Association.”

He lets his eyes wander over the group sat in a circle with him. “There are a few new faces this week, so I’ll start with the basics: Please be respectful of one another. If you don’t want to say anything, that’s quite alright, if you do go ahead. We are all here to share our experiences and help each other on our way. Does somebody want to start?”

Apparently not. There is some shuffling but even his regulars are looking away when he glances at them. _One of those days, huh?_

“Okay, I’ll go first, then. I’ve been alright. We’re moving, so I’m a little exhausted. Worth the accomplishment though.” Max pauses and looks down at his hands. This part never gets any easier. It won’t, until he finally confronts it and until then, “I… still haven’t told my daughter, about who I used to be. I know I should but I- I can’t.”

He loves Amanda with all his heart. Everything he has done these past eighteen years, from the moment he gave up on villainy and turned himself in, has been for her. For himself, too, but wanting the best for her was a major driving force.

She deserves a better father than the man he used to be.

“I don’t know if I could take it if it changes how she looks at me.” Max managed to make the words steady, although a part of him quakes just at the thought. He has lived with this since he first realized Amanda was old enough to _know_ and that he didn’t have the first idea how to tell her.

It’s been a while.

 

* * *

 

_Eighteen years ago, the world knew me under a different name, me and my siblings._

_Our story is not so unusual in the world we live in, I suppose. Villains, heroes, they come and go. Every country has their own, every era seems to breed its own type of saviors and bad guys._

_The Trevelyan clan has been in the business of the later for generations._

_Not simply because we enjoy it, like some do. Not precisely. Neither are we in it for the money, or the fame, though both come with the territory if you play your cards right._

_No. From the moment of our mistake, centuries past, anyone of our blood unlucky enough to become part of the Pantheon has been united in one goal:_

 

 

**_I will be free of this curse,_ **

**_even if I have to tear the world apart to get there!_ **

 

* * *

 

Some days are easier than others, Max has learned to live with that reality. This is his life.

There’s really only one way to punch the ticket and get off that train, so whatever choices he may have made in the past, this is it and he’s here to stay until he isn’t and he’s not backsliding.

Even if it can be very damned tempting.

“Hey! Asshole! I’m talking to you!”

 _Yeah, and I wish you didn’t._ Instead of answering Max ducks his head and squares his shoulders. Responding only ever makes it worse.

“HEY!”

The man dodging his steps makes a grab for him that he evades. So much for not responding. _Ugh, I hate the pushy ones._ “Go away.”

“I DAMNED WELL WILL NOT! YOU-“

He never ends that sentence. In the shadow of his upturned collar Max’ eyes flare with inner light. For the span of a second his pupils contract to slits.

The man, portly and in his fifties, bursts into blue flames in the middle of the sidewalk. He screams, howls really, reaching a pitch fit to shatter windows before his essence scatters into dust motes and ashes.

The sparse crowd doesn’t so much as look his way.

After a moment Max straightens his scarf and gets on with his day. _He should have fucked off when I told him to._

But when do they ever?

 

* * *

  _  
_

_It is said that our family once birthed seven siblings, much like me and mine. They were, so goes the tale, very skilled but always thirsting for more._

_In their hubris they challenged the gods themselves and won a piece of their power for each._

_But as such things go, the gods took offense to that._

* * *

 

Max sees her the moment they park in the driveway of their new house.

He’s too used to the sight for it to faze him. Instead, he busies himself with unloading the car and fending off Amanda’s attempts at derailing their venture into an early coffee break. … okay maybe a coffee break would be good.

She’s still there when they get back from Mat’s, in the same spot just at the edge of their garden, looking away from their house and at their neighbours'. Her dress, lily white, is floating gently in the breeze. The movement is just a bit out of synch with the leaves of the trees beside her.

That’s always a good hint, Max has found.

She’s not the only one out and about. A few doors down a picture perfect lawn is _crawling_ with mindbending figures that might have once been human but hopefully not. Other shades hang about, keeping their distance from that house in particular.

_Note to self: Keep an eye on that one._

“Dad! Are you spacing out again?”

Max unglues his attention from things best left unmentioned, not that he can _unsee_ them, and smiles at his daughter. “Sorry, Manda Panda. What were you saying?”

The light of his life rolls her eyes. It’s a very impressive move, nine out of ten. “I was _saying_ that I’ll have a sleepover tonight. Remember?”

Right, the sleepover. “Yeeees… yes?”

“Dad! You totally forgot, didn’t you?”

Well, between the dead woman hanging out on their lawn and the lovecraftian neighbourhood decoration, maybe possibly a little. “Of course not.”

“Riiight.”

“Run it by me again?”

“Okay, so Emma R. comes around at about seven-“

 

* * *

 

_For their victory in that fateful bet, the siblings received a collection of artefacts:_

_The seven rings of power._

_The keepers of these artefacts are capable of great feats of magic akin to the might of those they received them from but that power comes at a price. Each of the rings is cursed. While they wear them their owner cannot escape their intended torment and as you may have already guessed... it’s not as simple as taking them off._

_On the day I was born I inherited the ring of Hades. It has been on my hand ever since. I doubt I could remove it even if I were to try and cut it off._

_Others have. They weren’t very successful._

* * *

 

Max steps out onto his front porch that night, fully intending to find a bar, any bar, and have a perfectly normal night out. Like a regular father with boring hobbies and a wonderful daughter whom he embarrasses to the best of his ability while trying to be cool and _who absolutely cannot see ghosts_ thank you very much.

That goes pretty well, until it doesn’t.

 

They’re both still buzzed when they reach Robert’s house. The man does have a certain charm about him, Max can’t deny that. They’ve only met tonight and he’s a _neighbour_ for goodness sake, so he wouldn’t take him up on it anyway but…

Robert leans in and murmurs, “Hey, wanna come inside?” and suddenly she’s right _there_ , so close Max could touch her if she were solid, a little see through and milky white in the dark from her gown to her pale skin.

“Don’t.”

It’s no more than a whisper, gentle as the wind. Max breaks out in goose bumps all over and not for the reasons he was getting the shivers about 0.1 seconds ago. Fucking hell.

“Uh,” yeah the mood is well and truly gone not that he would’ve- yeah, “how about a rain check on that? I need to get up in the morning.”

“Sure, whatever. See you around I guess.”

The cursory dismissal cements Max’ decision. Definitely not what he was looking for tonight, even if that leaves him on his lonesome on the sidewalk with a spirit for company.

Speaking of spirits…

She smiles, a “Thank you,” on lips that forget to move halfway through the sentiment.

He’s so unsettled by what just happened he answers by rote. “You’re welcome.” _Aw shit._

Everything about her stops. Even her gown gives up all pretence at life and halts mid-flutter. “You can _hear_ me.”

It’s times like these that make Max seriously want to take up a bad habit, like smoking or chewing tobacco, or binge-eating chips, it would be something to _do_ instead of staring into her slightly unfocused eyes and waiting for the inevitable.

 

_I just-_

_Please. Can you go there and-_

_I need to tell them-_

_It was his fault-_

_I wasn’t done!_

_She killed me! You have to-_

They all want _something._ No ghost hangs around on this plane when they should be moving on if they’re not clinging to a person, a regret, an anchor that holds them here until they learn to let go and fade or turn into… well. His neighbour’s lawn comes to mind. Or the husks Max can summon by the legion to fight for him, if he feels like it. They don’t want much of anything. They’re empty.

Granted, some of that is the thrall of his power but not all. They aren’t supposed to _be here_. It’s not good for them.

This one at least seems to be on the best way of fading quietly into the afterlife.

Hopefully she won’t start bothering him, or he’ll have to give her a lift. He has it on good authority that that’s not exactly a fun ride. Banishing a spirit with enough personality and focus to have a conversation with is never pleasant. Max has yet to get used to the screaming.

… then again maybe it’s better that way. That kind of callousness sounds like it would lead to a re-run of his former career.

Well, this isn’t awkward.

“I’ll- I’ll just be going home now.” Max point vaguely in the right direction and… starts walking.

After a few steps she floats up to him and hovers along.

“Thank you.”

Okay, not his usual. “You already said that,” Max mutters, half to himself. It does paint an interesting picture though. There have been spirits who tried to warn him before but she's lacking a certain urgency. “You his wife, then?”

Ex-wife, more to the point, seeing as she’s six feet under but…

His companion laughs. The sound is so ethereal it could float away, much like her. “Robert’s? No. He just needs some looking after.” Sadness flickers over her face. “He hurts himself, with that, with the alcohol and the one-night stands. It’s not good for him.”

“Oh.” Yeah, oh. Awkwardness factor rising. “So…”

It’s not that long a walk, they’re already coming up to Max’ plot. “This is my stop.” She watches him with a faint smile, saying precisely nothing. “I’m… gonna go inside now.”

True to his word he starts to inch towards his door. At the rate he is going someone will catch him talking to thin air and he’s not nearly buzzed enough to pretend to be that drunk.

Small mercies she doesn’t follow him any further. Now there’s a first.

It still takes Max into the small hours before he falls asleep but it’s something.

 

* * *

 

_I should tell her._

_I should have told Amanda everything a long time ago._

_If I die tomorrow she will inherit the ring, become the vessel of Hades walking this earth, and there is nothing I can do to prevent that._

_Soon I’ll have no other choice but not quite yet._

_She should get to be free of that burden for a little while longer._

 

**Author's Note:**

> Picture: Collage from different pictures from different online sources (mostly pinterest or similar platforms so I honestly have no idea whom those might have originally belonged to x_X they aren’t mine and I’m definitely not making money with this)
> 
> Red: https://www.pinterest.at/pin/617063586423002261/  
> Pink: https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/525373112776077431/  
> Purple: https://www.pinterest.at/pin/401101910536673345/  
> Yellow: Claymore (anime)  
> Teal: https://weheartit.com/entry/156435889  
> Green: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/401101910536673348/  
> Blue: Sirius the Jaeger (anime - which is really great! and on Netflix now if you have it)


End file.
